Sugaring Season

Sugaring Season is the sixth studio album by English singer-songwriter Beth Orton. It was her first new album in six years and was recorded in Portland, Oregon at the studio of producer Tucker Martine. It is her first release for the Anti- record label with whom she signed in 2010. In 2014 it was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association,^[10] which indicated sales of at least 20,000 copies throughout Europe.^[11]

Sugaring Season
Studio album by Beth Orton
Released	1 October 2012
Recorded	Flora Recording & Playback, Portland, Oregon, US
Genre	Folk, adult alternative
Length	37:25
Label	Anti-
Producer	Tucker Martine
Beth Orton chronology
Comfort of Strangers (2006) Sugaring Season (2012) Kidsticks (2016)
Singles from Sugaring Season
"Something More Beautiful" Released: 10 July 2012 "Magpie" Released: 28 August 2012 "Call Me the Breeze" Released: 11 September 2012

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	75/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	C+[3]
Drowned in Sound	7/10[4]
Paste	8.5/10[5]
Pitchfork Media	7.7[6]
Rolling Stone	[7]
Slant Magazine	[8]
This Is Fake DIY	8/10[9]

Critical reviews

Review aggregation website Metacritic assigned Sugaring Season a score of 76 based on twenty-eight reviews, denoting "generally favorable reviews".^[1] Thom Jurek of Allmusic gave the album four stars out of five and called it "sophisticated, mature, and rife with quiet passion", and said "its songs are informed by the struggles inherent in everyday life, but also account for dreams, small triumphs, and the redemptive power of love".^[2]

Track listing

All songs were composed by Beth Orton except where noted:

1. "Magpie" – 4:32
2. "Dawn Chorus" – 3:24
3. "Candles" – 3:45
4. "Something More Beautiful" (Orton, M. Ward) – 3:28
5. "Call Me the Breeze" (Orton, Tom Rowlands)  – 3:52
6. "Poison Tree" (lyrics partially by William Blake) – 4:06
7. "See Through Blue" (Orton, Clemence Des Rochers, Pierre Brault) – 1:54
8. "Last Leaves of Autumn" – 4:01
9. "State of Grace" – 4:15
10. "Mystery" – 4:08

Deluxe Edition bonus tracks

11. "That Summer Feeling" (Jonathan Richman) – 4:37
12. "I Wasn't Born to Follow" (Byrds) – 3:59
13. "Goin' Back" (Neil Young) – 4:02

Personnel

• Beth Orton – vocals, guitar
• Rob Burger – piano, harmonium, electric piano, accordion
• Brian Blade – drums, percussions
• Clarice Jensen – cello
• Ted Barnes – guitar, banjo
• Marc Ribot – guitar
• Carl Broemel – guitar
• Sam Amidon – guitar, organ, violin, backing vocals
• Eyvind Kang – viola
• Nadia Sirota – viola
• Ben Russell – violin
• Tucker Martine – percussions
• Sebastian Steinberg – bass
• Nate Query – bass
• Laura Veirs – backing vocals

Charts

Chart performance for Sugaring Season

Chart (2012)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)[12]	26
US Billboard 200[13]	90